The Spaniards were cruel to the Indians in the Peninsula of Yucatan to such a degree, as to drive the Indians to exasperation and finally into wild rebellion. Submission after rebellion meant death or worse, and so the Indians, who had risen en masse, went to the extreme and massacred every Yucatecan they could lay hands on, and took possession, if such an expression is correct, of their own country. The Spaniards who escaped fled in all directions, and a great number found safety by crossing the Waterway 347 and placing themselves under the British flag.[1]
A certain Mr. Blake of Lauries-Bight took immense interest in the poor exiles; he not only encouraged them to come over and settle, but actually spent a fortune in ransoming some and setting others up in Ranchos, etc., so that in the end he himself became a mortgagee.[1]
The first Yucatecan to build a house on this shore was old Tata Solis. He came from Laurie!: in a small dorey across the New River Bight, and finding the location good among the feathery Corozos or Cohune palms, which lined the margin of the sea, invited others to join him. Then, with Mr. Blake's permission, he laid out the town in true Spanish fashion, with a big plaza, a public square, straight streets in blocks or manzanas, and christened the place San Narciso de Corosal, or Cohune patch. [1]
This gives us the founding date, for San Narciso's feast is the 29th of October and the year was 1847. North and South American names all show the same procedure ; -that is, the Spanish always dedicated the places discovered or established by the name of the saint or feast, on whoseday the place was discovered or " declared open ".[1]
In April 1861, the Acting Superintendant of British Honduras, Thomas Price heard about an impending raid on Corozal Town by the Santa Cruz Maya. He made haste for Corozal and was shocked to find the settlement nearly abandoned. He reckoned that about three quarters of the towns 2000 residents had fled. Likewise the surrounding countryside, in which there were probably about 4000 residents a few days previously, was, with the exception of one or two ranchos utterly deserted.[2]
Seeing the defenseless state of the town, Price ordered the remaining townspeople to clear the forest that surrounded the town.[2]
By May the panic had subsided and people had gone back to their everyday life.[2]
In 1870 two Icaiche chiefs marched to Corosal and took possession of it, demanding $3000.00 as a penalty for supplying arms to their enemies. But some of the Santa Cruz Indians appeared upon the scene, and Marcus Canul, the Icaiche chief, fearing they would bring their tribe upon him, withdrew his force of 400.
In 1938 Corozal was the capital of the Northern District which constituted of present day Orange Walk and Corozal districts.[3]
The Savings Bank, headquartered in Settlement 12, established a branch here in 1881.[4]
The boundaries of Corozal Town were updated on October 5, 1991.[5]
On April 1, 2025 all towns in Belize had their boundaries updated.[6]
On November 8, 1942 a hurricane struck Corozal Town and did great damage.[7]
September 28, 1955 Hurricane Janet hit Corozal Town and destroyed it completely. This place, the most northerly in British Honduras, was famous for its thatched houses, plastered inside and out with white marl which, from a distance at sea, gave the little town a splendid appearance. The houses were thatched with 'bay leaves', which lasted upwards of 30 years before needing to be replaced. They could not withstand the high winds of a hurricane. The churches of wood and brick stood up no better and collapsed.
After Janet's visit, Corozal Town was rebuilt with government aid. An immediate grant of £10,000 was announced by Mr. Alan Lennox - Boyd, then Secretary of State for the Colonies, and a reconstruction and rehabilitation programme got under way. Corozal Town arose anew. The government built effectively and aided the construction of churches. For private houses a system of aided ‘self -help ' was devised, and has been most successful.
The town was rebuilt on a modern town plan and was handed over to the Town Board in 1960. This method allowed the government to effect its great programme of general reconstruction.
Twelve persons died during this hurricane in one small town, and 15 communities were destroyed.[7]
When Tata Solis founded Corozal he christened the place San Narciso de Corosal.
Corosal comes from the word Coroso, meaning Cohune Patch, but by the late 1800s and early 1900s it was already being spelled Corozal.
Sometime around 1910, 3 2ft gauge railway lines were installed in Corozal. The wagons were 5ft wide and 10-15 ft long.[8]
One went up the Santa Rita hill to a sugar mill owned by Montalvo Ramirez, where 200lb sugar bags were put on carts, and sent down the hill by gravity. The track was dismantled in 1940 or 1941 for the war effort.
The other track came from Tony's, and was used to haul coconuts to the docks. At the end of 1938 it was dismantled. The third track went north, past Finca Solana and was also used for coconuts and spices. This track was dismantled in mid-1938.[9][8][10]
Improved mail and passenger services by motor vessels were established in 1924, the routes being Settlement 12-Settlement 64-Settlement 186 and Settlement 12-Settlement 79-Settlement 387-Settlement 172-Settlement 202. These services were subsidized by the government and mail was carried under contract.[11]
The first catholic priests came to Corozal in 1856.[12]
St. Francis Xavier's Church
Reverends
Missions
The Corozal Central Church is under the North Belize Mission Conference (Settlement 64) in the Belize Union Mission (Settlement 12) of the Inter-American Division (Miami, Florida) of the Seventh Day Adventist Church. In 2025 they had 723 members.[16]
The North Side Church is under the North Belize Mission Conference (Settlement 64) in the Belize Union Mission (Settlement 12) of the Inter-American Division (Miami, Florida) of the Seventh Day Adventist Church. In 2025 they had 513 members.[16]
The Shalom SDA Church is under the North Belize Mission Conference (Settlement 64) in the Belize Union Mission (Settlement 12) of the Inter-American Division (Miami, Florida) of the Seventh Day Adventist Church. In 2025 they had 521 members.[16]
The Catholic School had 323 students in 1927 and 301 in 1928.[17][18]
A new police station was erected in 1930.[19] In 1949 the police force consisted of 13 officers, with transportation consisting of 1 Land Rover.[20]
| # | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | - | 1st Avenue | - | - | - |
| 2 | - | Margarita Street | - | - | - |
| 3 | - | Parade Street | 1892 | 1955 | - |
| 4 | - | Santa Maria Street | - | - | - |
| 5 | - | Sapodilla Street | - | - | - |
| 6 | - | Tinta Street | - | - | - |
| 7 | - | Victoria Street | 1882 | 1955 | - |
| 8 | - | Z/J Street South | - | - | - |
| # | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 1st Avenue Roundabout | - | - | concrete | 66 |
| 2 | Santa Rita Roundabout | - | - | concrete | 94 |